Force of Nature (Aaron Falk #2)(71)

For a moment, the only sound was the crackle from the fireplace.

‘Why didn’t you mention this when we spoke before?’ Falk said.

‘I was trying to respect the kids’ privacy. Not make things worse for them.’

Falk looked at him, and for the first time, Bailey couldn’t meet his eye. There was something else. Falk thought about Margot standing, childlike and alone, in her mother’s kitchen.

‘How old is Margot in those pictures?’

Bailey blinked and Falk knew he was right.

‘If someone looks into the dates those were taken, are they going to find she was only fifteen at the time?’

Bailey shook his head. ‘I don’t know.’

Falk was certain that he did. ‘How old is your son now?’

A long silence. ‘He’s eighteen, but only just. He was only seventeen when they were seeing each other, though.’

‘But now he’s not.’ Carmen leaned in. ‘Now, he’s legally an adult who has allegedly distributed sexual images of a girl under the age of consent. I hope you’ve got a good lawyer.’

Bailey sat on his expensive couch next to his crackling fire and raised his eyes to look at his smiling son in the glossy family portrait. He nodded, but he didn’t look happy.

‘We do.’





Day 3: Saturday Night


Alice had been gone for a while before anyone noticed.

Bree wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring at the flames when she realised there were only four of them sitting there. She scanned the clearing. There was little to see. The front of the cabin glowed orange and black, its angles creating sharp shadows in the light of the fire. All around, everything else was in perfect darkness.

‘Where’s Alice?’

Lauren looked up. ‘I think she went to the toilet.’

Across the campfire, Jill frowned. ‘That was quite a bit ago, wasn’t it?’

‘Was it? I don’t know.’

Bree didn’t know either. Time seemed to flow differently out there. She watched the flames for a few more minutes, or possibly many more minutes, until Jill shifted.

‘Actually, where is she? She hasn’t gone so far that she can’t see her way back to the fire, has she?’ Jill sat up straighter and called out, ‘Alice!’

They listened. Bree heard a rustle and a crack from somewhere far behind her. Possum, she told herself. Other than that, all was still.

‘Maybe she didn’t hear,’ Jill said. Then, very lightly: ‘Her bag’s still here, isn’t it?’

Bree got up to check. Inside the cabin, she could just make out the shapes of five backpacks. She couldn’t tell which one was Alice’s, so she counted them again, to make sure. Five. All accounted for. As she turned to leave, a movement through the side window caught her eye and she stepped up to the hole where glass should have been. A figure was moving by the tree line. Alice.

What was she doing? It was hard to tell. Then Bree saw the telltale pinprick of light. She sighed and went back out to the fire.

‘Alice is over there, around the side.’ Bree pointed. ‘She’s checking the phone.’

‘But her bag’s still inside?’ Jill said.

‘Yeah.’

‘Can you get her?’ Jill squinted into the dark. ‘Please. I don’t want anyone to get lost in the dark.’

Bree looked around as a rustling came from somewhere in the trees. It really was just a possum, she told herself. ‘Okay.’

It was darker out of view of the fire and Bree stumbled on the uneven ground, the image of the flames dancing in front of her eyes whether they were open or shut. She took a breath, and made herself stop and wait. Gradually, the distinctions started to become clear. She could see the moving figure at the tree line.

‘Alice!’

Alice jumped and turned at the sound of her name. The phone glowed in her hand.

‘Hey,’ Bree said. ‘Didn’t you hear us calling?’

‘No. Sorry. When?’

Alice had a strange expression on her face and, as Bree got closer, she thought the woman might have tears in her eyes.

‘Just before. Are you okay?’

‘Yes. I thought – I thought for a second I had a signal.’

‘Oh my God, really?’ Bree almost snatched for the phone. She stopped herself in time. ‘Did you manage to call someone?’

‘No. It disappeared straight away. I haven’t been able to find it again.’ Alice looked down. ‘I don’t know. Maybe I imagined it.’

‘Can I see?’ Bree reached out, but Alice stayed just far enough away.

‘There’s nothing there. I think maybe I saw what I wanted to see.’

On the screen, Bree caught a glimpse of a name. Margot. Last number dialled. She hesitated. It was Alice’s phone, but they were all adrift in the same miserable boat. That changed the rules. Bree took a breath.

‘We should only use the phone to call triple zero.’

‘I know.’

‘I mean, I realise it’s hard. Everyone’s missing home and thinking about their families, I totally understand that but –’

‘Bree. I know. I couldn’t get through.’

‘But even trying to call uses up the battery and we don’t know how long –’